This invention relates to devices for cleaning and polishing fruits, vegetables or other products. More particularly, it relates to a specially constructed cleaning bag into which the products are placed and shaken, in an end-to-end oscillatory motion, to clean and polish them.
The marketing and culinary appeal of most all fruits and vegetable depends on their appearance. Therefore extensive technology has been disclosed for washing and preparing product for the marketplace.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,351 to Orman et al. discloses a method involving simultaneously scrubbing the product with brushes while drenching the product with a falling liquid containing an aqueous fungicide with a controlled pH. The process is performed in order to clean the fruit while simultaneously depositing a fungicidal coating on the surface of the product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,291 to Chooijian et al. is for an apparatus to remove mold and other detritus from raisins in which the raisins are subject to a shower and an oscillatory agitation on a conveying system in which the raisins are conveyed in one direction on a conveyor belt which is textured to carry the debris in the opposite direction.
The foregoing disclosures are examples of operations that are performed on products on a commercial scale. Operations of this type do not satisfy the interests of the homemaker because, in many instances, fungicides or thin coatings are deliberately left on the product in order to preserve the product during its transport through the market place to the household. Consequently, homemakers spend considerable effort in washing products in order to render the products safer for consumption by their families. A number of devices have appeared in the market to facilitate this practice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,756 to Mosely discloses a drying apparatus consisting of a net bag placed inside an outer imperforate plastic film bag. The product to be dried is placed inside the net bag. The two bags containing product are held together and manually rotated or swung so that water is slung off of the product by centrifugal force and collected in the outer imperforate bag. The inner bag may be a net material or, alternatively, an absorbing material such as terry cloth.
U.S. Pat. No 4,944,051 to Porter discloses a net bag with rings for attachment to a faucet such that the bag with product to be washed can be suspended from the faucet with water running over the product while the user manually manipulates the contents of the bag to ensure thorough washing.
Appearance is a function not only of the cleanliness of the product but also the degree of polish that has been developed on the surface of the product. Discolored products resulting from application of chemicals is not completely removed by simply washing the product such as is often done by the homemaker. Remnants of these chemical not only leave the product in an unattractive condition, but also pose a health problem. Many homemakers are well aware of the health problems associated with ingesting a product that has not been completely cleaned and tend to equate appearance of the product with exposure to health problems.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for cleaning and polishing fruits and vegetables. The method is particularly directed toward small fruits and vegetables that are eaten whole or with the skin or peel intact. Examples of such vegetables and fruits are tomatoes, radishes, apples, grapes, cherries, kumquats, etc. The inventor also recognizes that such a method and apparatus would also be useful for other non-food products, for instance golf balls, stones or marbles, therefore the items to be cleaned will be referred to generically as xe2x80x9cproductsxe2x80x9d which should be understood to include food and non-food items. It is another object of this invention to generate a polished and otherwise attractive appearance of the product. It is another object that the practices of this invention be convenient to the homemaker in the typical home environment. It is also an objective to strip the product of stems leaves, etc. It is also an object to provide a device that is convenient to clean.
This invention is directed toward the steps including rinsing off loosely adhering debris, then placing the product in a container which has a lining specially selected for the purpose, then oscillating the container with the product inside for an appropriate number of cycles, then removing the product. After a sufficient number of oscillations, depending on the type and condition of the product, the product is removed from the container.
Access of individual members of the product to the interior lining of the product is an important parameter for successful performance of the method. Therefore, the ratio of the surface area of the product to the interior wall of container must not exceed a value depending on the product. For example, for grapes or small tomatoes, the container should not be filled more than about 25% full. Furthermore, sufficient contact of the lining and skin of the product requires that the interior of the container be elongated with the cross sectional area of the interior comparable to the cross sectional shape of the members of the product. Therefore, with appropriate end-to-end manual oscillatory motion, this shape provides a rolling motion to the members of the product with resultant rubbing of the surface of the members against the lining.
The container of this invention has a lining and design appropriately selected for the purpose. The design of the bag is such as to provide convenient loading and unloading of product to and from the interior of the bag. The preferred lining of the container is thin absorbent paper or fiber composite, however a number of linings are effective for the purpose such as a terry cloth or other fabrics and materials. Another requirement is that the interior lining of the bag be conveniently accessible for occasional cleaning. Another advantageous feature is that the bag have dimensions of cross sectional area that are adaptable to the size of the members of the product being cleaned.
In one embodiment, access to the lining is provided by a construction in which a zipper extends from one end to the other end of the bag. Closable openings at each end of the bag for filling and emptying the product members are provided for quickly loading or unloading product. In another embodiment, an elastic section in the bag provides that the bag will be contracted to accommodate smaller members of product such as grapes or cherries but is expanded to accommodate larger product members such as apples or pears.
In another embodiment a rectangular wire frame has one end with hooks that may be secured inside and to one end of the lining and a handle outside the other open end of the lining. When it is required to clean the lining, the wire frame is withdrawn from the bag thereby withdrawing the lining from the inside of the outer bag and turning the bag inside out for convenient cleaning. After cleaning, the end of the frame with one end of the lining attached is xe2x80x9cpokedxe2x80x9d back into the outer bag cover to resume the cleaning and polishing operation. The open end of the bag is provided with ties for attachment to the rail.